A bear is seen climbing a fence on Pleasant Street and looking down on trash cans that had been left out on Monday, May 20, 2013. Wildlife officers killed the bear Tuesday after it entered two houses in Boulder. (Courtesy Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

A bear sits in a tree near Eben G. Fine Park on Tuesday, May 21, 2013. It was later killed by wildlife officers. (Mitchell Byars / Daily Camera)

Bear-proofing

For more information from Colorado Parks and Wildlife on how to keep bears out of homes, visit tinyurl.com/bearproofing .

Wildlife officers killed a 2-year-old bear that climbed a tree in Eben G. Fine Park on Tuesday afternoon, saying the animal broke into two Boulder homes earlier in the day looking for food.

The bear -- which rangers on the scene initially thought might have been a cub -- entered a house in the 300 block of Arapahoe Avenue and another home on Marine Street, according to Jennifer Churchill, of Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

In both cases, the bear entered through doorways, and one of the houses was occupied at the time, Churchill said.

The bear also was seen rooting through trash in backyards along Pleasant Street on Monday.

"It's a tough situation, but we cannot have bears going into occupied dwellings," Churchill said after the animal was put down.

The bear was tranquilized and removed from the tree at Eben G. Fine Park, then euthanized, Churchill said.

There were several bear reports around Boulder on Tuesday, officials said, including one on Flagstaff and another just outside the city.

Cody Newman, who lives in a housing complex at 350 Arapahoe Ave., said officials may have killed a different bear than the one that entered a house in his neighborhood Tuesday morning.

He said he had a clear view of the animal from his upstairs window as it entered his neighbor's front door, and based on the photos on the Daily Camera's website -- provided by Parks and Wildlife -- it was a different bear than the one found at Eben G. Fine.

"This bear was definitely not 2 years old. It was a cub," Newman said of the animal he saw. "It was brown to the point where it almost looked like it had white and brown fur. Looking at the picture on the website ... it's quite different than the one I saw enter (my neighbor's) home."

Churchill said homeowners need to make efforts to get rid of trash and other bear attractants to ensure the animals aren't drawn into populated areas. Homeowners should avoid leaving trash out overnight unless it is in bear-proof containers, and they should take down bird feeders.

"It's really important, because we don't want to have to be putting bears down," Churchill said. "This is a community issue. If we care about our wildlife, we need to bear-proof."

A bear is seen climbing a fence on Pleasant Street and looking down on trash cans that had been left out on Monday, May 20, 2013. Wildlife officers killed the bear Tuesday after it entered two houses in Boulder. (Courtesy Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

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